IRENA joins global leaders on the front line of the battle to limit climate change

It was billed as a day of action. Parties without concrete, actionable plans and commitments stayed away from a meeting that the UN Secretary-General and wider community believed could be the most important climate meeting since Paris in 2015. Leaders who brought announcements to the Climate Action Summit effectively represented the world’s front line in the battle to stay within the 1.5°C of warming.

Director-General Francesco La Camera joined heads of state and leaders from business and civil society in reinforcing a unified and immediate response to the climate emergency. In an address to delegates, Mr. La Camera reiterated the Agency’s support for the world’s most vulnerable nations including small island developing states (SIDS) and reminded attendees that it’s possible to limit warming if we invest in the energy transition.

“It’s possible to secure justice for SIDS who, along with least developed countries, are the most threatened [by the effects of a warming planet], despite having contributed nothing to climate change,” said Mr. La Camera. While SIDS have shown climate leadership through 100% renewable energy ambitions, realizing these ambitions is critical – something the Agency pledged to continue supporting. “IRENA stands with SIDS in this effort,” he continued “including through the SIDS Lighthouses initiative which received a new injection of financial support from Denmark, Germany, Norway and the UAE.”

Furthermore, the Director-General presented the recently launched Climate Investment Platform.

“It’s possible to mobilize financial resources for the change,” he said. “The recently launched Climate Investment Platform will be inclusive, well-articulated, proactive and agile in supporting SIDS and other developing countries access the capital necessary to respond. It will also facilitate private sector engagement to accelerate the energy transition, and scale-up a low-carbon resilient economic future for islands.”

The day proved beyond doubt that it is possible to mitigate catastrophic climate change and that the political will exists to take meaningful and immediate action.

But “we have to do more,” Mr. La Camera reminded attendees, “IRENA is ready to act.”

Original source: IRENA
Published on 23 September 2019